6 Positive Signs That Animal Abuse is Being Taken Seriously in the U.S.

Tragic stories involving humans abusing animals seem to make headlines on a daily basis. As animal lovers, reading these stories can be difficult and make you feel as if no progress is being made to save and protect all the animals humans interact with or take responsibility for. Without voices to speak up for themselves or proper laws (and enforcement of the laws that do exist) to shield them from neglect or physical abuse, it is up to us to step in and do all we can to end the violence. This involves speaking out and raising awareness for animals who are the victims of abuse and also even working help get laws changed or improved on a state or national level.

The good new is, it seems that all of this hard work is paying off and resulting in some positive steps in the U.S. These are just a few indications that animal abuse is now being taken more seriously.

1. The FBI Reclassification of Animal Abuse

The FBI recently announced that animal abuse, as of 2016, will be considered “crime against society.” This allows the FBI to collect and track information about animal abuse and increases the probability of harsher punishments. Basically, animal abusers will be in same category as murderers, because, quite frankly, in some cases, they are. Not only will tracking abuse in this manner help to protect animals, but it will also have a positive impact for society writ-large as domestic abusers tend to also have histories of animal abuse.

2. Harsher Punishments on a State Level

Many cities and states are enacting stricter punishments for animal abusers now, showing that they are taking this crime seriously. One example is Georgia. In one recent case where a Pit Bull named Roxy was stabbed 24 times and left to die, her attacker was charged with felony aggravated animal cruelty. This would not have been possible prior to 2000 because there was not a felony law for aggravated cruelty to animals in Georgia. This horrific crime would simply have been a misdemeanor, but thanks to stricter laws, the punishment is now fitting to the crime.

3. People Taking Action

Change is not only occurring in the world of law, but also with people taking direct action against cruelty every day. In one example a kind animal lover, Michael Hammons, stepped in to rescue a dog who was overheating in a car by smashing the car’s window to rescue the animal. Hammon took the dog to shade and gave him water, saving his life. Unfortunately, this story also shows some of the work that needs to be done, since he was charged with trespassing for breaking into the car – luckily, the charges were dropped.

4. Factory Farm Workers Punished

Despite being out of the public eye, factory farmed animals are abused every day, often without repercussions for the abusers. Luckily, this seems to be changing as evidenced from a recent case involving five employees at Foster Farms. Mercy for Animals conducted an undercover investigation and found rampant abuse of animals in the factory farm, including chickens being roughly handled, punched and plucked alive, thrown on the ground and boiled alive. The employees have since been suspended and are under investigation by the county Sheriff. Winchester Dairy also fired employees recently following a video showing abuse such as kicking, punching, and shocking cows.

5. Ringling Retires Elephants

In case you missed this amazing news, Ringling announced earlier this year that it will be retiring its elephants by 2018! While ideally this would happen immediately, it is still a huge sign that animal abuse is being taken more seriously. Elephants were and are a huge element of Ringling Brothers, and the circus was fined over $270,000 (the largest civil penalty of its kind) for violations relating to the treatment of their elephants. The ban shows that this abuse is simply not acceptable anymore.

6. Horse Carriage Bans

New York City is an important battleground for the ban on horse carriages. While the ban hasn’t happened yet, the bill to ban them in New York City went to city council in December 2014. If it passes, it would go into effect in 2016. Many people do not understand the cruelty behind the horse-drawn carriage industry as it has been so normalized into our society, however, this ban shows more people are waking up and refusing to allow animals to suffer for the sake of novelty and entertainment.

Progress is Possible

While progress is being made regarding animal abuse, there is still a lot of work left to be done. You can help by continuing to advocate for animals and making sure you report animal cruelty when you see it. The more people who speak up and show that animal abuse will not be accepted, the sooner it will end for all animals!

Related

Want to read more posts like this? Sign up for our newsletter below!​

Browse through some recent posts below:

Chemical lawn treatments and weed killers, pest control pellets and sprays, and items we use to spruce up our landscaping can all be a source of dangerous toxins for pets. Even some garden flowers and plants can be highly toxic to our canine and feline friends.

Dogs sold in pet stores, at flea markets, or even online can fetch up to thousands of dollars. So what’s the real difference between the cost of a dog rescued from the shelter, compared to a dog bought from a breeder or a pet store? Let’s break it down.

But with over 5,000 animals still dying in shelters every day in the U.S., you can never do too much when it comes to helping animals find the homes they deserve. From cat and dog cafés to feline-friendly yoga, these unique programs are saving lives one cuddly pet at a time.

Disclosure: One Green Planet accepts advertising, sponsorship, affiliate links and other forms of compensation, which may or may not influence the advertising content, topics or articles written on this site. Click here for more information.

0 comments on “6 Positive Signs That Animal Abuse is Being Taken Seriously in the U.S.”

The fbi is a criminal syndicate, homicidal in its credo and always looking for and often gaining new ways to terrorize and imprison/murder our people:

http://www.sosbeevfbi.com/affidavit2007.html

The most egregious violators of human rights in America today is the fbi ( referred below as the ‘burro’)and their pólice followers.

For a hundred years the burro ( and the police) have been threatening, torturing, imprisoning, forcing suicide and killing people often for no justifiable cause. The burroi now expands their attacks on our people by adding a new area of so-called criminal law that promises at once to give them even more sweeping and abusive powers over society and at the same time , paradoxically, to spotlight the corrupt power of the burro over our lives. The new law authorizes the assassins and torturers of the burro to investigate ”animal cruelty”, even as the most cruel and inhumane assaults on our people (like me, and perhaps you, for example) are committed 24/7/365 by burro agents, operatives, informants, contacts, street thugs and burro’s police.

The burro (i.e. the fbi) announces that animal cruelty is a Group A felony with its own category — the same way crimes like homicide, arson and assault are listed. Of course the burro does not define ‘animal’, so as to intentionally exclude from the definition the burro’s cruelty toward our people. Neither does the burro define cruelty which I define as threats, assaults, false imprisonment, torture, forced suicide, murder, etc., against any member of the animal kingdom (not just against dogs).The burro in its new found power proclaims that gross neglect, intentional abuse, torture, and organized abuse, are all crimes that will be tracked.

I suggest that the people look closely at these statements by the burro because the burro everyday violates all of the above alleged offenses as I and many others document for decades; and the burro goes far beyond violating their own strictures referenced above as they engage in prolonged violations of human (i.e. animal), civil and constitutional rights of human beings around the clock, and they do so for monetary gain and for increased power.

Does the burro think that humans are less deserving of humane treatment than dogs, cats, etc.? Does the burro actually believe that they can continue to torture and kill human animals while claiming to protect dogs? Yes, because the people are afraid to shut down the burro’s killing machine in efforts to search for a more effective and compassionate way to deal with confused people. One must remember that the fbi engages in their unconscionable offenses during their entire careers and thereafter; their bread and butter is gained by their own demented pursuit of imagined offenses that do not exist, except within their own minds. Note that the burro once poisoned my beloved dog while they were also torturing me in El Paso, Texas, almost thirty years ago.

The burro also regularly employs extreme and cruel psychological warfare on many innocent human Targets for political or ideological purposes and with the ultimate goal of ending the life of their human prey. For more on the burro’s cruelty see reports on torture by Directed Energy Weaponry and other offenses by the burro online.